"Akis", "Meropi", "Sifanos", "Sifana" or "Sifanto" are some of the names the island of Sifnos got over the centuries. According to a legend, the island was named after "Sifnos", the Attic hero Sounios’ son. Others say the name Sifnos came from the adjective "siphnos" which means empty, referring to the many underground mining tunnels of the island.
The island has been inhabited for 6 thousand years, initially by proto-Hellenic Aegean tribes, then by Cretans and Achaeans.
Ιn the Archaic period the island was known for its gold and silver mines. The people of Siphnos had gained enormous wealth from them and used the tithe of their income to erect the Siphnian Treasury. Built in the cult center of Delphi, the first religious structure made entirely out of marble, the treasure advertised the city-state's prosperity and gratitude to Apollo.
In later years, up to the Middle Ages, conquerors, Venetians, Knights of St John and many a pirate passed through Sifnos , leaving their mark on the island's settlements and architecture.
In this virtual exhibition you will find minimalist black and white photographs of the island by photographers Dimitris Papadimos and Leon Frantzis as well as by the American classicist Richard Hubbard Howland, which cover approximately 8 decades. Chapels, dovecotes, dry stone walls, monasteries are some of the architectural elements recorded by the photographic lens.
You will also find a series of paintings by Panagiotis Tetsis, who, inspired by the the sharp, absolute light of the island, in the 60s and 70s, created a series of black and white gestural works reminiscent of expressionism. Nelli Andrikopoulou’s drawings and skecthes also capture the visual minimalism of the Cyclades.
The Ethnology Notebooks of the Academy of Athens are a recording of the folk culture and traditions of the island, while photography of everyday objects and local people during their daily occupations illustrate Sifnian society at the start of the 20th century.
There is also a lot of archaeological material, photographs from excavation sites as well as fragments of pottery from as early as the 10th century BC. Well known both for its culinary tradition and its pottery, Sifnos has been a place of arts and crafts since ancient times. The pottery of Sifnos, in particular, is a wonderfully interesting tradition that has been kept live for millennia. The Archipelago Network created a series of engrossing videos documenting the pottery tradition and contemporary ceramics of the island which you can find here.
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The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
